Nagpur: The Other Backward Classes (OBC) constitute a significant share of India's population, but they have been consistently deprived of their rights and entitlements, necessitating a separate enumeration, former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh said.
Support for OBC Boycott
The former NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA extended support to the OBC community's boycott of the ongoing census, demanding a separate column for OBCs be included in the enumeration process to ascertain their exact population. Several villagers across Maharashtra are opposing the census exercise due to the absence of an OBC column. In some instances, census officials visiting villages were turned away by locals.
Criticism of Administrative Coercion
Referring to the aggressive stance adopted by citizens, Deshmukh criticised what he described as administrative coercion and urged the Centre and the state to amend the census forms before the issue escalates. Deshmukh said villagers across the state have taken a justified position. Despite this, officials have been attempting to exert pressure under the pretext of mediation, he alleged, warning such high-handedness would not be tolerated in a democracy.
The demand for an OBC column in the census has been a long-standing issue, with activists arguing that the absence of accurate data on OBC populations leads to inadequate policy formulation and resource allocation. The OBC community, which forms a substantial portion of India's demographic landscape, often finds itself underrepresented in government schemes and affirmative action programs due to the lack of precise numbers.
Deshmukh's remarks come amid growing tensions in several districts of Maharashtra, where villagers have actively resisted census operations. In some areas, local leaders have organized protests and warned officials against entering their villages without addressing the OBC column demand. The former minister emphasized that the census is a fundamental exercise for democratic planning and that excluding OBCs from proper enumeration undermines their constitutional rights.
He further stated that the central and state governments must take immediate steps to resolve the issue through dialogue and administrative action. Adding an OBC column would not only ensure accurate population counts but also help in better targeting of welfare schemes and reservations. Deshmukh called upon the authorities to listen to the voices of the people and avoid any confrontational approach that could lead to further unrest.
